Orc Shamans
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |ranged = ( ) |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Ranged Attack x4 Healer Purify }} Orc Shamans are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Orc Towns containing at least a Shrine. Shamans are a basic support unit capable of accelerating the recovery of wounded allies overland, and attacking enemies from a distance with magic during combat. While Orc Shamans are initially fragile and not particularly powerful, they can become somewhat stronger through . Orc Shamans have a Construction Cost of , and require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Orc Shamans are a group of red-skinned, bald-headed humanoids, dressed in simple loincloths. They appear to be unarmed, but this can be deceiving, as they are actually not too bad at hand-to-hand combat, and can channel magical energy into useful applications without the need for a weapon. Orc Shamans are a , containing up to individuals. Attack Properties Orc Shamans initially possess fairly weak attacks, which will only be threatening to low-tier enemies. Both their Melee- and Ranged Attacks have Attack Strengths of 2''', which has an average "raw" output of - barely enough to get through even light armor. They do get better with though, both in the strength and accuracy of their attacks. At the level, the maximum normally attainable, they will do nearly three times this much with both Attack Types - points of "raw" , on average, per '''Shaman. Their are not affected by the distance from the target, although they can only be used 4 times in any given battle. The magic of Orc Shamans is considered to come from the Realm, and this is what their Ranged Attacks are associated with. As such, they will trigger the conditional modifiers granted by the and spells, making them much less effective against targets bearing these Unit Enchantments. While they are not considered to be direct , and are not nullified outright by Magic Immunity, the ability's will nonetheless make any opponent possessing it virtually impossible to hurt with these attacks. Defensive Properties Orc Shamans wear medium armor, and possess a Defense score of . They can deflect about points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average - barely enough to avoid those of the lowest-tier Normal Units. Just like common foot soldiers, each Orc Shaman also has only . In other words, every point of inflicted on this unit will kill off one of its . On the other hand, being magic-users themselves, their Resistance score is above average, although only slightly. With , they have a fair chance of avoiding at least the weakest Unit Curses and combat maledictions. All three of these statistics improve with however. Other Properties Orc Shamans move at a slow , and can only traverse land tiles. The unit has no special movement properties. It does however, possess the Healer and Purify abilities, both of which allow performing specialized functions on the overland map. The first trait recovers up to 20% of the total health of every unit on the Shamans' tile at the beginning of each game turn - including themselves. This healing is always rounded down though, and as a result it won't actually help the Shamans initially, since they only have a total of × = , the 20% of which rounds down to . Naturally, it also won't affect any other unit with an overall health pool lower than . The Healer ability does not stack, so each unit can only benefit from it once per turn. Therefore, having multiple Orc Shamans in a group will not accelerate the recovery of injuries any further. Unfortunately, there is also a bug associated with this ability in the latest official version of the game. Any unit that is healed by Orc Shamans that were created before the unit itself will effectively forego its natural healing for the turn. This is not intended however, and is corrected in the latest release candidates of the unofficial v1.51 patch. The other ability of Orc Shamans lets them remove Corruption from overland map tiles. Although not overly common, and typically limited to being used by Wizards, the effect of Corruption can be quite troublesome, as it negates all Town contribution from the tiles it appears on, including that of any Terrain Specials. To cleanse a tile, the Shamans must move onto it, and activate their ability using the "Purify" command at the bottom of the overland unit window - this also requires them to be selected and have Movement Allowance remaining. It takes 4 + 1 turns to remove Corruption from one map square, with the former number representing progress that can be shared among multiple units with the Purify ability. Basic Strategy Orc Shamans are a versatile support unit that can fill multiple roles both in- and outside of combat. Although they have less and ammunition than Orc Bowmen, their higher Attack Strength, heavier , and lack of distance penalties make them better suited for battles that need to be decided in the first few turns. However, while their required Town Building does have comparable economical value, Orc Shamans are more expensive to both create and maintain, which may make them less preferable as the main Ranged Attack unit for early Orc armies. This will certainly be the case for Wizards who have access to multiple enhancement effects, either in the form of spells or rare equipment crafting materials. The Bowmen can ultimately outperform Orc Shamans with these - and not just because of their higher count. , in general, are extremely difficult to improve outside of gaining . Neither their Attack Strength, nor their chance is affected by weapon quality, and they are ignored by most spells and aura abilities that boost these attributes as well. The few enchantments that do improve this Attack Type typically involve turning the Orc Shamans into Fantastic Units one way or another. Even then however, they will still ultimately be replaced by Orc Magicians, who have superior firepower, except they require a very expensive Wizards' Guild to train. Regardless of whether they play a primary ranged role though, Orc Shamans still have merit. Their healing skill can significantly reduce the time it takes for wounded soldiers to become battle-ready again, although if recruited for this ability alone, a single unit of Shamans is usually enough for each army stack. In fact, it may be better for them to follow the fighting group instead of being part of it in this case. This not only prevents them from being sniped, but also allows a full 9 other units to be used in the stack they are supporting. Granted, the Shamans will not get battle this way, but since the Healer ability does not scale with their level, this should not make much of a difference if they stay out of combat anyway. Finally, Orc Shamans may be necessary to recruit when going up against practitioners of magic, as Corruption can be a serious hindrance to the player's economy. Whether a single unit can handle the task of cleansing the neighbouring lands will of course depend on the frequency of the opponents using spells with this effect. While it may be tempting to create 4 Shamans to get the fastest Purify times, this is not always efficient, especially when one unit can cleanse a tile before another Corruption appears, or the entire group is even recruited. On the other hand, treasury allowing, having a dedicated full group can ensure that critical resources, such as Terrain Specials, are regained in the most timely manner possible. Ability Overview Ranged Attack x4 * This unit may use a instead of a Melee Attack up to 4 times in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks. Healer * At the beginning of each overland turn, every friendly unit that is on the same map tile as one with this ability is healed for up to 20% of its total , rounded down. * This ability has no effect on Undead and creatures. * Multiple instances of this ability are not cumulative. Purify * This unit can remove Corruption from overland map tiles. * To use this ability, the unit needs to be on a valid tile, be selected, and have Movement Allowance remaining. If all requirements are met, the "Purify" command becomes active in the unit window at the bottom right of the screen. * Cleansing a tile takes 4 + 1 game turns, with the first number representing progress that can be shared among multiple units with this ability - resulting in total times ranging from 2 turns with 4 units, to 5 with a single one. Experience Table The following table illustrates how Orc Shamans improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of "raw" that each in a Orc Shamans unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Orc Shamans may be recruited in any Orc Town that has a Shrine already built. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Orc Shamans may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Arcanus. In this case, they cost between to to hire per unit, based on their - or half that much for Charismatic Wizards. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Orcs Category:Shamans